Lucas looked thoughtfully out the window of the almost empty bus as it entered the urban area. Beside him, the man named Frank was calmly reading the newspaper.
After a while in silence, Frank folded the newspaper and addressed Lucas. "I suppose you'll have a lot of questions about this whole thing. I promise you'll get answers soon, but you have to be patient."
Lucas nodded slowly, without taking his eyes off the city landscape. "I don't understand anything that's happening. Last night I was just a random homeless guy, and now...what have I become?" He looked down at his mutated arm, suppressing a shiver.
Frank placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's a lot to process, but you can't go back now. You are now part of something that surpasses you. I only ask that you reserve your judgment until you talk to my friend. He will be able to clarify your doubts."
Lucas looked at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. "But who are you? Why did you kidnap me? What do you want from me?" Questions poured out of his mouth.
"Calm down, boy, everything in its time." Frank pulled a silver flask from his coat pocket and took a long drink. "For now, just know that I belong to an organization that has been protecting humanity from certain...anomalies for centuries. And you seem to be one of them."
The bus entered the metropolitan area, immersed in the morning hustle and bustle. Lucas looked at the crowd through the glass, feeling more distanced from them now than ever. What future awaited someone like him?
Frank stood up as he approached his stop. "Fear not, boy. You will soon understand your role in this puzzle. For now, just follow me." Lucas swallowed thickly and followed him off the bus and into the busy streets.
Lucas followed Frank to an apartment building in the center of town. They took a narrow elevator to the fifth floor and walked down a narrow, poorly lit hallway.
Lucas looked thoughtfully out the window of the almost empty bus as it entered the urban area. Beside him, the man named Frank was calmly reading the newspaper.
After a while in silence, Frank folded the newspaper and addressed Lucas. "I suppose you'll have a lot of questions about this whole thing. I promise you'll get answers soon, but you have to be patient."
Lucas nodded slowly, without taking his eyes off the city landscape. "I don't understand anything that's happening. Last night I was just a random homeless guy, and now...what have I become?" He looked down at his mutated arm, suppressing a shiver.
Frank placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's a lot to process, but you can't go back now. You are now part of something that surpasses you. I only ask that you reserve your judgment until you talk to my friend. He will be able to clarify your doubts."
Lucas looked at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. "But who are you? Why did you kidnap me? What do you want from me?" Questions poured out of his mouth.
"Calm down, boy, everything in its time." Frank pulled a silver flask from his coat pocket and took a long drink. "For now, just know that I belong to an organization that has been protecting humanity from certain...anomalies for centuries. And you seem to be one of them."
The bus entered the metropolitan area, immersed in the morning hustle and bustle. Lucas looked at the crowd through the glass, feeling more distanced from them now than ever. What future awaited someone like him?
Frank stood up as he approached his stop. "Fear not, boy. You will soon understand your role in this puzzle. For now, just follow me." Lucas swallowed thickly and followed him off the bus and into the busy streets.
Lucas followed Frank to an apartment building in the center of town. They took a narrow elevator to the fifth floor and walked down a narrow, poorly lit hallway.
They stopped in front of one of the doors and Frank rang the bell repeatedly, but there was no answer. "Strange, Thomas is always home at this time," Frank muttered, looking at his watch.
After insisting for a while longer, finally the door opened a little and a tired and haggard-looking man looked out. "Frank, you know you can't show up like this. I'm very busy with work and..." the man stopped when he noticed Lucas's presence.
"Yes, I'm sorry Thomas, but something urgent has happened that requires your expertise" Frank apologized, then took Lucas by the arm and showed his deformity to the man. "Last night there was an incident with one of those creatures and this boy was affected."
Thomas watched the mutation with great interest. He then looked at Lucas confused. "Excuse my manners boy. I'm Thomas Wagner. Please come in, tell me what happened." He stepped aside to let them enter.
Thomas's apartment was crammed with books, strange artifacts, and papers everywhere. It was obvious that he didn't have visitors often. He told them to sit down while he made some tea.
Lucas examined the place intrigued, wondering what role this eccentric character would play in the mystery that surrounded his ordeal. Frank motioned for him to be quiet as Thomas returned with three steaming mugs and took a seat across from them.
"Okay, start from the beginning. I want to know all the details of what happened with the boy. Oh, and we haven't formally introduced ourselves." He held out a hand to Lucas. "I'm Thomas. And you're...?"
"I'm Lucas Forwhich" he introduced himself politely. He then proceeded to recount to Thomas the strange events, from the creature's attack, his escape to the abandoned laboratory, the quantum explosion, and how he ended up in that strange twisted void where the abomination fused to his arm.
Thomas listened with great interest, closely examining the mutation on the young man's arm. He tried to remove a sample by inserting a syringe, but the mass went through the needle, causing it to burst.
"Fascinating..." Thomas murmured, rubbing his chin. He then asked Frank if he had detected quantum energy emissions in Lucas. Frank nodded affirmatively.
"I see..." Thomas said thoughtfully. He stood up and asked Lucas to wait for him with Frank in the living room, while he went to look for something in his room.
Once alone, Frank addressed Lucas in a low voice. "Thomas may seem a little eccentric, but he is the most brilliant mind I know on out-of-the-ordinary phenomena. If anyone can understand what you're going through, it's him."
Lucas nodded, processing everything. She still had many questions, but this Thomas seemed to be her best hope for answers.
After a few minutes, Thomas returned carrying a kind of metal box with several cables and devices attached to it. He placed it on the table and opened it, revealing a hollow interior with a mysterious purple stone in the center that gave off a faint glow.
"Okay, Lucas, put your arm here. This is a quantum resonance chamber that will tell me a lot about that mutation of yours," Thomas indicated. With some suspicion, Lucas inserted his limb into the box. Thomas closed the lid and began monitoring various screens on the outside.
As Thomas analyzed the readings, Lucas asked him why Frank hadn't explained anything to him about quantum energy. Thomas rolled his eyes.
"Oh, Frank. I understand you're not fluent in science, but you should have given the kid at least some basic information." Frank shrugged uncomfortably.
Thomas proceeded to explain to Lucas the concept of quantum physics. He told him about how different laws governed the subatomic world, allowing access to practically unlimited energy. But a special biological interface was needed to take advantage of it.
"A few of us are born with the genetic mutation that allows us to interact with quantum energy. These organs can process it and release it at will, manifesting extraordinary abilities," he explained.
Suddenly, the alarm on his machine blared. Thomas looked at the results, startled. "This is... unusual. That tissue on your arm is not only emitting but also absorbing quantum energy from your body, feeding on it."
Lucas looked at his arm, deeply concerned. "What does that mean? Is that thing living like a parasite?"
Thomas scratched his chin. "In a way...it seems to be a living organism that feeds on your energy. That's probably where its jerky movements come from. Fascinating."
Thomas continued to examine Lucas's mutated arm with great interest as he explained more about the nature of the underlying quantum world. He told her about how it consisted of layers of reality outside of conventional space and time.
"I think you were exposed to that quantum realm, altering your biology. Your quantum organs are in early development, you just emit that energy but you don't control it" Thomas said.
Lucas listened, intrigued but also worried. "There must be some way to stop the changes this...thing is causing within me."
Thomas didn't look up from his monitors. "Be patient, this is the first time I've come across a case like you. I'll have more answers soon."
Suddenly, Thomas gasped in surprise. A message written by an unknown source had appeared on the monitor that was emitting all kinds of colors that appeared to be damaged: "Hello?"